Fragments
by Queen of Stuff
Summary: Twilight and Luna's daughter, Firefly, has to fulfill her position as princess and kill the monsters terrorizing mares. WARNING: this story contains rape, character death, and general unpleasantness. Credits to Serenity go to Reflections of Twilight.
1. Chapter 1

**So, here it is! A sequel to Devastation! YEAH! Celebrate among yourselves. **

**Just as a warning, though, this will get heavy fast. This is just a cutsie beginning chapter...**

The night was dominated by storms.

Every three seconds, thunder rolled out, and a burst of lightning accompanied it with a flash that lit up every house in Equestria. Foals were scared, grabbing to blankets and wailing for their mothers, and even the strongest stallions were concerned by the shadows and overwhelming sense of darkness. It was officially a day to be inside, a day to cuddle up by the fire and drink apple cider and tell stories of things that were happy and filled with light; none of the stories of monsters and sirens and kelpies and changelings would do any good to soothe the fearful hearts of ponies and alike throughout the land.

On that particular night, Fluttershy, her pink hair falling over her eyes, was kissing Vinyl Scratch lightly on the mouth while rain poured down on their rooftop. This weekend, they had decided to stay in Ponyville rather than Canterlot due to the rising fame of both of them. Fame was a difficult thing to deal with, especially under circumstances whereas the fame was growing swiftly despite any attempts to stop it. A few months before, Fluttershy herself had killed the beast that had threatened to rape and pillage the souls of many innocent mares, including the Princess Celestia herself. This caused an immediate outbreak of a Flutter-fan club, most of whom which were either crazed paparazzo wannabes or desperate insecure fillies in need of a role model. The role model part was a little bit more than nice; there were times, after all, when Fluttershy was greeted by a sweet, innocent little filly who asked in a stammer for nothing but a hug. Those were the times that made the fame more bearable and less of a burden.

On the other hand, Vinyl Scratch's fans were mainly of the other class; loud, disruptive ponies with nothing better to do than blare her CDs on their radios and dance in ways that most of Canterlot saw as horrible. It didn't matter, though, because there was a constant flow of money from music sales, which was nice, and the fans were quite sweet, sometimes sending roses of many colors to their adored star, other times CDs containing their own mix tapes. There was a following of the insecure, too, and they were the female musicians that had been oppressed for the longest; Sweetie Belle, for example, sent in her tape of scales, and then before one knew it, she had her cutie mark for being an excellent opera singer.

Apple Bloom had received her cutie mark as well; a tiny hammer and nail decorated her thigh. She had shown excellency at construction and was now submitting her first designs for a new wing for the palace in Canterlot. Scootaloo, though, hadn't gotten a cutie mark; of course, she still couldn't really fly yet. It was a bit pathetic.

Thunder cracked, and Fluttershy stopped daydreaming and stood up. "What's wrong?" asked Vinyl, her blue mane ruffled from the pillows. "Or, should I say, _is_ there something wrong?"

"No," said Fluttershy, biting her lower lip. "I…I just have this very strange feeling that something is going to happen."

"Happen?" asked Vinyl, sitting up in their bed. "Like Pinkie sense?"

"No…more like…well…I don't know, really. It just feels so…de ja vu, for lack of better wording."

"Mhm," said Vinyl, yawning and falling back on her pillow. "Whatever. It's probably nothing."

But a few miles away, Rarity sat up in bed and stared out of the window. "Spike," she said, "I think something is going to happen soon."

And in Discord's castle, Applejack's house, and Spitfire's manor, the other elements of harmony stood up, stopped what they were doing, and said the exact same words, all with the exception of Twilight Sparkle. They could've just brushed it off and said that it was nothing, but something—perhaps the connection between them—forced them to take the next train to Canterlot.

.:.

The storm had not yet passed when Pinkie Pie arrived.

Life with Discord had started to take its toll on her. She looked a little thinner, a little taller, and not so pink anymore. She hid this, though, underneath a thick coat, and ran into the palace through the main entrance, ignoring the shortness of breath it brought on.

"Pinkie Pie?" asked a familiar voice, and she saw Rarity standing next to Spike, who had grown several inches taller and had darkened in hue. "Oh, darling, I didn't expect to see you here."

"I don't know," said Pinkie Pie. Her brain was fuzzy. "Is anyone else here?"

"I am," said Applejack, who was wearing a strangely thick coat. "Y'all seen Dashy and 'Shy?"

"Present," said Rainbow Dash, flying in. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know," said Fluttershy, trotting in with Vinyl Scratch. "Where's Twilight?"

The ponies stared at each other. It took a moment for things to click, but when they did, they all dashed up to Princess Luna's wing.

.:.

"She's _adorable_, Twilight," said Rarity, bending over her friend's shoulder and gazing at the newborn filly. "How did you manage to have such a cute foal?"

Twilight smiled weakly and nuzzled her baby. "I have no idea, Rarity," she said honestly, staring lovingly at the filly. "But you have to admit, she's pretty sweet for a newborn."

The filly was a dark shade of purple, almost indigo, and had silky tufts of what would eventually become a pinkish-yellowish-white mane. There was a tiny horn, and better yet, tiny wings. Each of the ponies was taking turns staring at her and cooing.

"I think your filly has convinced me to have a baby," said Applejack in a daze, sitting down quickly. "Or, well, maybe not. What're you going to name her?"

"Something star-related," said Princess Luna, emerging from behind. She nuzzled the tiny foal and gently kissed her on the forehead. "Maybe Astra, after my mother?"

"I…I like Andromeda," said Twilight quietly, kissing her. "Or maybe Cassiopeia."

"Firefly?" offered Fluttershy. "It is really cute."

"Firefly it is," said Luna, kissing her daughter again. "What a filly she'll be…"

The storm had passed.


	2. Chapter 2

__**Another filler...I'll be posting pictures of Firefly to my deviantArt soon, so da-da-dummm!**

_Five Years Later _

_. _

_. _

_. _

_"What are you waiting for? Jump," said the voice. _

_She turned around, biting her lip. "But…if I jump, I'll die."_

"Wake up, Firefly."

_"So? No one needs you," said the voice, laughing. "It's not like anybody will miss you." _

_"But…Mommy and Mama…" _

"Firefly, you're having a nightmare. Wake up. It's the first day of school!"

Her eyes fluttered open, and Firefly got up, her multi colored mane a mess. "Whaaaazat?"

"It's time to go to school, darling," said Twilight, pulling off her covers. "Come on. There are so many foals that you'll want to meet."

"Sure," yawned Firefly, putting her hooves over her head. Her pelt had darkened in the last few months, more blue than purple, and her mane was becoming more apparent in hue. She was becoming quite beautiful.

"Really," encouraged Twilight, pulling her crown off of the bed stand. "Put on your crown, dear. Anyway, I didn't think that friends were really worth it until I made them, either. You should try."

"Whatever, Mama," said Firefly, rolling her enormous silver eyes. "I think I might actually not need friends. They're for plebeians."

"Not this plebeian nonsense again," groaned Twilight, kissing her horn. "Come on. I'll beat you downstairs."

"Nuh-uh!" argued Firefly, jumping up, wings ready. Twilight laughed and ran out of the bedroom, and her daughter followed her through the window, her wings beat furiously against the wind.

It was odd, the storms. They had been in Equestria for ages now, years. Firefly couldn't remember ever seeing the sky without it being dotted with clouds.

"Beat you!" cried Firefly triumphantly. "In your _face_, Mama!"

"Now, don't talk like that," chided Twilight. "You're better than that, dear."

"That might be true, but I don't care," said Firefly. "Hi, Aunt Celestia!"

"Hello, Firefly," said Princess Celestia, nudging her niece. "Brush your mane, sweetheart. It's going to be a big day for you."

"Unfortunately," answered Firefly. "Where's Mommy?"

"Here, Firefly," said Luna, kissing her. "You'll never guess what I saw in the sky."

"What?"

"An alicorn constellation!"

"We're alicorns, right?"

"Yes."

"Cool."

There was the crack of thunder, and Firefly shuddered. "I hope my wings don't get too wet," she said darkly. Her voice was strangely low for a filly. "Mama, will Freckles be there?"

"Of course," said Twilight, putting on her raincoat. "Remember when I told you that she was enrolled there?"

"Kinda," said her daughter, once again displaying that she was still a foal. "Mommy, Aunt Celestia, when's Uncle Shining's wedding anniversary?"

"Next week," said Celestia, looking more towards Luna and Twilight. "They're expecting again."

"Again?" echoed Twilight. "Why…that's…hopeful."

"Yes, I suppose," said Celestia a bit gloomily. "Fiery, darling, promise me you don't understand what we're talking about."

"No clue," said her niece, jumping up and down, following her tail in an undignified manner. "Mama, am I going with you or Mommy?"

"With me, darling," said Twilight. She looked thin in the dim light. More thunder rolled out, and everyone winced.

.

Firefly looked out of the carriage window, her tiny nose pressed against the glass. It was still raining, like it had been forever. Twilight sat next to her, her bangs falling across her eyes. She always fascinated Firefly, because she was just a unicorn, not an alicorn like her. Sometimes she wondered why it was like that, why she didn't have a daddy even. It was just weird. She wondered what it would be like to have a daddy.

Freckles' daddy Soarin' was really nice. He went flying with them, and taught Firefly about wind drag and how to speed up and slow down in a way that made Twilight scream _SOARIN' WHAT THE HAY?_ He was her favorite uncle. She wondered how Auntie AJ got paired up with him.

She had other uncles and aunts, of course, like Uncle Shining and Aunt Cadance and Aunt Dashy and Aunt Fluttershy and Uncle Spike and Aunt Rarity and Aunt Pinkie and Uncle Dizzy. Uncle Dizzy was fun but could be scary. Uncle Spike liked smoking cigarettes. Uncle Shining always looked kind of sad when he played with her, like she was something a bit sorrowful to him. She never understood it. Aunt Rarity combed her mane, and Aunt Pinkie taught her crazy dances that looked easy but were really hard. Aunt Dashy was even better at flying than Soarin', and she showed Firefly how to do _everything_. Aunt Fluttershy was the sweetest, though, and Aunt Cadance always supported everything, like her crush on that colt who sometimes flew by her bedroom window. Aunt Cadance was probably her favorite, and she wondered why she didn't have any foals, because she would be the greatest mom ever.

"We're here!" said Twilight. She looked happy, than sad. "Okay, now, remember to behave yourself for Miss Cheerilee, okay?"

"Yes, Mama," sang Firefly, hopping out of the carriage. "Bye! I love you!"

"I love you, too," said Twilight, and she and the carriage flew back to Canterlot.

Firefly walked into the schoolhouse nervously. There were immediately some whispers: "Is that the princess?" "Yes! Wow, look at that crown!" "My mommy has a better crown!"

"Hay, Firefly!" said Freckles, stepping up from behind her desk. Freckles was always smaller than the other ponies, and she was a light shade of orange with streaks of blue in her otherwise yellow mane. "You'll never guess what me and momma did this weekend!"

"What?" asked Firefly curiously.

"We made jam!" exclaimed Freckles, bouncing up and down. "It was _so_ cool, Firefly! And it tastes really good! Momma packed an extra sammie for you!"

"Thanks, Freckles!" said Firefly cheerfully. "My mama and my mommy made star sandwiches."

"Star sandwiches?"

"Yeah. Mommy went into the sky and got some star dust and made it into sandwiches."

"That's magical."

"I know, but I guess it has something to do with Mama's cutie mark," said Firefly.

The door opened and Cheerilee stepped in, soaking wet. "Hello, my little ponies," she said despite the fact that her mane was dripping. "How are you today?"

"Good," sang the class in return.

"Very good!" said Cheerilee, and thunder rolled out. The class barely flinched. They had been used to the storms since they were babies. "How about we sit in a circle and introduce each other?"

"Okay!" said a stout colt with a pink mane and a green pelt. "I'm Bass Line!"

"I'm Flowerwind!" said a happy little pegasus.

"I'm Freckles," said the said pony.

It went on like that until it got to Firefly. She stood up, cleared her throat, and began. "I am Princess Firefly Andromeda Astrana Sparkle." Her tongue has some trouble looping over the syllables, but she did pretty well over all. "That's all."

"That's…lovely," said Cheerilee. She had never taught a princess before, which was no wonder, but this one was odd enough. "Now, come on class. Let's paint pictures of our families."

Firefly smiled and got out her paints. She loved anything that had to do with art.

After a few minutes of working, Bass Line looked over her shoulder and frowned. "Where's your dad?" he asked. "I just see mares."

"Well, I don't have a daddy," said Firefly, feeling a little bit uncomfortable.

"Why?" pressed another earth pony, this one named Glitter. She had a yellow curly mane and was wearing what Firefly was pretty sure was eye shadow. "Everypony has a daddy."

"I just don't have one, okay?" said Firefly. She hated talking about this. "Big deal."

"What's the problem?" asked Cheerilee, coming over.

"Firefly didn't paint a daddy," said Bass Line loudly.

"Firefly?" asked Cheerilee. "Firefly has two mommies. Lots of families are different, like, um, Flowerwind? Don't you have two daddies?"

"Yep!" exclaimed Flowerwind. "Daddy and Papa. That's 'cos I'm adopted."

"Were _you _adopted?" Glitter asked Firefly curiously.

"No, I was made through magic," said Firefly honestly.

"Cool," said the class in chorus.

"Did it hurt?" asked Freckles.

"Not me, but Mama said it was like having a knife go through her."

"Okay, that's enough," said Cheerilee quickly. "Who wants lunch?"

.

Twilight sighed.

Life without Firefly at her side every second was proving to be very boring. Normally, she spent every single second with her daughter, always taking care of her, never leaving her side. Now that Firefly was at school, she didn't know what to do herself. _Maybe I could see what my friends are doing._ She hadn't had that much contact with Pinkie Pie, weirdly enough. The pink pony had been with Discord for nearly five years, and every time she saw her, her face was thinner and she looked a bit taller. Luna had assured her that this was normal for the lovers of spirits; after a time, they grew, became more like alicorns. In rare cases, they _did_ become alicorns, but Twilight didn't want to think about that. Pinkie Pie was scary enough on her own.

Rainbow Dash was constantly busy with clearing the clouds, but last year, she had come to Twilight in tears. Spitfire wanted to end the relationship and spend more time with her son from a previous relationship. It was depressing as all hell, but it made Twilight wonder if there was any possibility of her dating Fluttershy, who had ended her relationship with Vinyl Scratch years before. The idea was crystal clear in her head…they would be perfect for each other.

Applejack was happy with Soarin'; that was for sure. Big Mac was still a bachelor, Apple Bloom was for all Twilight knew still alone, and the rest of the cutie mark crusaders seemed to be off in the world. Sweetie Belle seemed comfortable enough with her life, but she couldn't help but worry about Scootaloo, whose cutie mark didn't make any sense. The vague outline of an upside triangle? It was odd. _"Maybe I'm invisible,"_ she had said. Scootaloo did seem like that, always different after the storms had started.

The storms brought on a lot of changes.

Still sighing, Twilight went to her phone and called Rarity. "Hello? Hi, Rare! I know, long time, no see, but I was wondering if you'd like to come to the palace with Spike."

"I'd love to," said Rarity. "I'll be there in a few hours."

The phone hung up with a click, and Twilight was alone again.

.


	3. Chapter 3

**In which we get an M rating...**

In the darkness, thoughts were brewing about things nopony really wanted to think about. Humans, on the other hand, could think about them as much as they wanted to.

There were only a few of them left. There was a war, once, far before anypony was born, and it was a dark time, a dark time, indeed. Humans are the only beings capable of killing their own kind, and killing each other off was the only thing they could do.

So there was a great war of nuclear energy and dark matter, and everything on the planet that had the genus _homo_ was wiped out. Nearly everything, that was.

There was one left now, only one, a male, and he was determined to carry his seed. There were lots of mares in Equestria, lots of mares with silky flanks and pretty eyes. He could easily do things with them, things that could spawn a new race of half-human creatures that could in turn breed and start a new army. Of course, he first had to rape one mare.

It took several months to decide, of course. Only so many mares were available at this point. It only seemed right, he thought, that he could do it to someone who was old enough to understand the implications behind violence but young enough to be naïve and predictable. He stalked the fillies of Ponyville for a few months before deciding on the pony that had the lowest self-esteem and most self-hatred; Scootaloo.

He watched her until it was safe. Then, he struck.

.

The storm had cleared in most of Equestria, but it was still positively damp in Ponyville. None of the mane six was there that night. It was perfect, really. Simply perfect.

Scootaloo was sitting on a park bench, staring into space with an expression of utter defeat. _I can't believe that I still don't have my cutie mark._ She wasn't talented at anything, when she thought about it. Maybe she'd just wander the earth forever in need of a cutie mark without actually getting one.

"Hello," said a scratchy voice. She didn't turn around or anything. "Are you alright?"

"Not really," said Scootaloo, still staring into the middle distance. "If anything, I think that I'm going to kill myself right now."

"Then you wouldn't mind me raping you."

"Not really…wait, _what?_"

Something hit her in the head, and everything went black.

.

She woke up in darkness. Something is penetrating her, back and forth, in and out without stopping. It hurts more than anything, but she can't speak, or breathe, or even scream.

"Stop," she chokes, and whatever it is slaps her across the face.

_Dirty._

She sobbed, uncontrollable at this point. Her soul was displaced, cut into fragments.

_…can't…_breathe…

Her heart screamed in her chest. She can't do anything. She is _nothing_. _Stop it. Please hear my psychic message and stop it._ It felt like he was shitting on her.

It felt like she was going to die.

_So this is the fate worse than death. _

.

Rain against her face.

There were scars on her back, heavy scars and bruises. Each one stung when she walked.

It was funny, that they were going to school at all. They were too old for it, anyway, but they wanted to visit Cheerilee.

Apple Bloom ran out to greet her. "Hay, Scootaloo! What's with the sweater?"

"Nothing," she said, faking a grin. It hurt her teeth. "Does it look bad?"

"A little," admitted Apple Bloom. "Why not take it off? The purple doesn't go that great with your color."

"Well, excuse me that I'm not some light-colored filly," said Scootaloo, staring pointedly at Apple Bloom's butter-colored pelt. "I mean, not everyone can look like Princess Celestia, can they?"

"Scoot, is something wrong?" asked Apple Bloom concernedly. Her face did it. Scootaloo burst into tears. "Oh, Celestia, what happened?"

"I don't know," sobbed Scootaloo. "I…yesterday…this thing…it _raped_ me!"

She sobbed some more, and Apple Bloom put a hoof on her shoulder. "Scoot…we need to go to the hospital."

"What for?" sniffled Scoot. "I mean, if they do a rape kit, it won't really matter, right? There's no evidence about who did it. I don't know _what_ did it. It could've been anything."

"What did it look like? A manticore? A griffin?"

"No, it was…hairless."

"Hairless?"

"Yeah. Like…taller than ponies and skinny and gross."

"Ew. I'm…I'm just in shock right now."

Sweetie Belle walked up. "Hi, fillies," she said. "Scoot? Why're you crying?"

"Sweetie Belle, she was just _raped_," said Apple Bloom in a daze. "What are we going to do?"

"Tell Miss Cheerilee," said Sweetie Belle promptly. "When something bad happens, tell a grown up pony. That always seems to work."

They ran inside of the school house. There were a few students in there already, including Diamond Tiara. "What's with the sweater, Scoot-a-don't?" she asked smugly. "It's looks awful."

"Shut up, butt-munch," said Sweetie Belle, turning to Cheerilee. "Cheerilee, we have an urgent problem."

"Yes, my little ponies?" asked Cheerilee, leaning down with that lovable smile. "What is it?"

Scootaloo gulped and took off her sweater.

Rarity yawned and smiled.

Spike was next to her, as always, and was sprawled out like every morning. Tiny burst of flame were emitted from his nostrils every time he breathed, and it looked adorable. In fact, everything about Spike was adorable, from the fact that he was too lanky and his head was a bit strangely shaped now that he was a teenager, the spikes more prominent and everything. He was just so _cute_…and so good in bed she could die.

"I love you," she whispered, getting up unsteadily. She had been feeling off balance lately, like her energy had shifted, and it was weird but pleasant.

"Rarity!" cried Sweetie Belle, running into the kitchen at top speed. "Something _terrible_ has happened!"

"What, have you realized that the filly you have a crush on is secretly a boy?" teased Rarity, getting out the eggs from the refrigerator. "Because trust me, that happens often enough."

"No, that's stupid," said Sweetie Belle, waving it off. "But, Rarity, it's Scootaloo! She was raped!"

The eggs fell and broke on the floor. "What?"

Memories that she had almost blocked out flew back in. Images of that pony…that monster Bedlam…the blood on her thighs…

"Rarity? Are you okay?"

"Sorry," said Rarity, getting up. "I just…wow. But Scootaloo…where is she now?"

"The hospital. They're doing a kit right now."

"That's just…tragic," said Rarity, slumping back a little. "Do they know who did it?"

"No," said Sweetie Belle slowly, "but…he's not a pony."

.

The news spread like wildfire. A filly, just out of foal-hood, had been raped. It was shocking, uncalled for, and set ablaze in the hearts of Ponyville citizens.

Princess Celestia, a victim herself, was called in to talk to the community. "My assailant wasn't a pony, either," she said, publicly displaying herself about the incident for the first time. "But that doesn't mean that we can't find him. At all costs, we will destroy this attacker and get vengeance for the survivor."


	4. Chapter 4

It was unreal, the hysteria that was brought on by a single act of violence.

Firefly experienced this firsthand. Her mothers immediately decreed that she could not be left alone at any given time. Then there was the fact that she was too 'delicate' to be allowed back in school, even though only a few days had passed. Suddenly, it was recommended that all of her studies were run by her aunt, Princess Celestia.

"Now, levitate this piano," commanded Celestia, and Firefly struggled to use her magic to lift the heavy piano.

"Like this?" she asked.

"Excellent!" the princess said, handing her a cookie. "Now, are you ready for musical composition?"

Firefly nodded and stepped to the piano. She played a few bars. "_I'd rather die, die without you,"_ she sang in a contralto. "Is that okay for impromptu?"

"A few more bars," said Celestia.

"Okay. _Oh, yeeaaah, I'd rather die without youuuuu—_argh! It happened _again!"_

Her voice had cracked on the high notes, and she sank to the floor despondently. "I suck, Auntie."

"No, you don't," said Celestia gently, lifting her up and kissing her on the nose. "You're just having some difficulty right now, darling."

"I've_ had _difficulty, though," complained Firefly, sinking even lower. "I can't sing."

"You don't need to be able to sing to be a princess."

"But it would help."

"Not true, baby-doll."

"Tell that to Cadance, then," said Firefly a bit uncomfortably, sitting up. "Is Blueblood here yet? He was supposed to—"

"—teach you calligraphy?" finished Celestia. "Yes, he'll be here in the hour, sweetie. Now, Firefly, it's time for me to go. The sun won't rise on its own."

"Is it morning already?" asked Firefly, stifling a yawn. "That's impossible."

"No, it's morning," said Celestia, looking out the window nervously. "Alright, niece. I'll leave now."

She flew out of the window, and Firefly shivered as it began to snow, the tiny little flakes just another storm.

.

Firefly stood nervously on the edge of the garden wall. There was a toad a few feet away, and it croaked as she tried to step near it. Toads never liked Firefly. Frogs did, though, so she was comforted by it.

"Mama?" she asked, skipping as her confidence grew. "Can I get a mouse?"

"Sure, darling," said Twilight, reading a heavy volume.

"Okay—"

She couldn't finish her sentence as she fell the short distance to the ground. There was a sickening crack and she burst into tears.

.

"Hospitalized for a week?" asked Luna disbelievingly. "How could she have hurt herself that bad with such a small fall?"

The hospital was cold and smelled of sterilizing materials. Firefly was still crying, and her wing was bent at a funny angle.

"I did it all the time growing up," offered Fluttershy in a whisper, licking the wound. "It's alright, sweetie. Your wing will get better soon."

This did not help.

"But how will I fly with Soarin' and Rainbow Dash?" sobbed Firefly. "I'll have nothing to do!"

Flying felt like everything to her…her entire world, shattered for a few weeks all because of a little bit of irresponsibility.

"You can still practice magic, dear," said Twilight, nuzzling her. "The world hasn't completely ended."

"It feels like it," sniffled Firefly. "Mommy, when can we leave?"

.

It hit her in the sitting room.

"Mom!" she shouted to Luna, her eyes bright. "I figured out how to end the storms!"

Her cutie mark dazzled on her side, a light bulb.

.

"Levitate this…dragon."

The fully grown dragon rose up several feet and was gently placed back down. "Done."

"Okay…um…"

Firefly frowned. "Auntie?"

"What?"

"Have you run out of things to teach me?"

"I think so."


	5. Chapter 5

**Enter the boy! :0 thanks to those who reviewed, i love you all dearly.**

During the period of a year, he had raped seven ponies. The only one who kept the baby died in childbirth, and he held his son wearily.

The creature was small, obviously male, with downy white fur and wide spaced eyes. It coughed, shaking on his arm, a tiny, pathetic little creature with a scruff of blonde hair and not much else besides fingernails on his hooves.

"You're really miserable looking," he whispered, kissing him. "What should I call you?"

The child-foal coughed and blinked.

The monster sighed and gently placed the thing on the ground. So, maybe raping millions of ponies wasn't the answer, but it was still nice. And besides, he now had a side kick.

.

"I just don't know what to do," said Rarity, staring pointedly at Sweetie Belle. "I mean, God, Twilight, she looks like…er…"

"It's just a phase," said Twilight.

"But—"

"Just keep telling yourself it's a phase."

Sweetie Belle was clad in black lace. Her purple-pink mane fell down around her shoulders in loose curls. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were dressed similarly, except Scootaloo's dress was tattered and white with red staining the back and around her legs.

"What are they doing, anyway?" asked Firefly. She didn't understand the bigger ponies.

"Performance art," said Twilight gravely. "They're just trying to rub it in everypony's face that one of them was violated."

"Violated?"

"Raped."

"Oh."

Firefly didn't get the rape thing. It seemed to dominate her life. Everypony had been raped but her. Rape, rape, rape…it was all that was in the papers, all Princess Celestia talked about in hushed whispers, and all anypony seemed to care about.

So, sure it happened a lot, and to basically everypony who went outside, but it didn't make sense. Firefly didn't even know what it _was_.

"Mama, can I go, um, I don't know, with Mom to the starscape?" she asked quickly. "I mean, if it's not too big. I just…I'm an alicorn, and we can breathe space air, and…and…"

"What?" asked Twilight tiredly. "What is it?"

"I want to meet other alicorns."

Twilight looked at her like she had never realized that she had a daughter before. "What?"

"I…I'm almost a mare, Mama," she said, looking down at her long legs. "I mean…I just want to be like everypony else."

"You want a special somepony, don't you?" asked Twilight gently.

"Yes," said Firefly quietly, and everything made sense to Twilight. The letters on her bed, the darkness under her eyes when she woke in the morning, her cutie mark…Firefly was, without any doubt, growing up.

"Okay," said Twilight Sparkle with a wistful smile. "You can go with Mom to the starscape."

.

The starscape was the magical, beautiful place only alicorns could go to. It was holy, explained Luna and Celestia, a place of pure, unadulterated magic and goodness, a place where the elements of harmony were created, a heaven that ponies could only access after death.

Firefly was beyond excited to go there. Besides, she would be the first new alicorn to go there for years.

"Now, remember, Firefly," warned Celestia, "the starscape is different than Equestria. You won't be especially noticed, because alicorns just _live_ there. Do not talk to any of the dead. They will try to drag you into their clutches and out of eternal life. And most importantly, do _not_ speak, look at, or even think of the current King of Death."

"Current?" asked Firefly.

"Every eon, the King of Death is reborn randomly to any mare in Equestria. He is flown to the starscape, where he learns the ways of the dead and how to comfort the misbegotten souls. This time, the King is as old as you. It is written rule that the princesses of Equestria should not try to talk to Death, for he will tempt you, and you will succumb. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Aunt Celestia," said Firefly, and she thought she did.

But when she got to the starscape, her jaw dropped.

"Oh, Mommy, it's so beautiful," she said, staring at the clouds and stars and eerie moonlight. There were alicorns prancing, space alicorns, that was, each one finer and more beautiful than the last. "Who are they?"

"Rulers of other lands, here to socialize with eachpony. It's typical, but be warned, dear," said Luna. "Some of the others are rather…vicious in their language."

A pretty alicorn with a yellow-hued pelt, fish scales on her legs and tail, and gills—yes, _gills_—stepped towards them with a smile. Her cutie mark was a small tornado of water. "Hello," she said, her hair shimmering like water. "I'm Doria, princess of the merponies."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Doria," said Luna, not bowing. "I am Luna, raiser of the moon, and this is my daughter, Firefly, creator of light."

"Creator of light?" asked Doria, cocking her head. "As how?"

"Electricity," said Firefly quickly. "It's a type of technology, I guess, and very strange to work with."

"It sounds quite interesting," said Doria, not looking half as interested as she sounded. "Well, I must be off now. The spirits of Platinum and Puddinghead are having a fight, and I'd rather die than not watch."

She flew off, and Firefly stared at her behind with interest. "So that's the first alicorn I've met besides you and Celestia, and she seems like a total snob."

"Well, they're royals," said Luna, walking with her. "We can't help it."

Out of the corner of her eye, Firefly saw a handsome unicorn stallion who was pure white with streaks of black in his mane and icy blue eyes. "Who's that?" she whispered, giving her mother a nudge. "He's _beautiful_."

"That's the King of Death," said Luna unenthusiastically. "His name is Despair. Quite the trickster, I've heard, but intelligent as well…stay away from him, Firefly. He'll pull something awful on you, I just know it." She turned away, her plasmatic mane wavering in the strange, ethereal light.

"Okay, Mom," said Firefly, skipping towards a group of thin alicorn princess, three to be exact, each with no eyes.

"Hello, new one," said the first and tallest. "We're the Weïrd sisters."

"The Weïrd sisters?" asked Firefly. "What do you do?"

"Predict fate and such," said the smallest, who was only slightly taller than Firefly. "Can you get us our eye? It fell to the floor, unfortunately."

Firefly winced and handed it to them. "Here you go," she said, handing it to the second sister, who had yet to speak. "I suppose you know my name."

"Yes, indeed," said the second sister. "You will achieve much, Firefly. Beware of the hyooman."

"The _what?"_ asked Firefly.

"Human," said the third sister. "She likes to stretch out the vowels."

"What's…what's a human?"

"The beings that lived on this earth before the Great Expansion," said first sister. "There is but one left, and his name is—"

"Adam," chorused the sisters.

"Like the first," offered the second.

"The first was Lilith, dumb-wad," said the third. "Then Nameless one, then Eve."

"Nameless one?" asked Firefly.

"Nameless one, the first of a long line of scared, dependent females," explained the first. "But beware of Adam and his steed-son. They will find you, and you will have to fight for all your worth in order to defeat them."

"O-kay," said Firefly slowly, backing off. "By, Weïrd sisters."

"Good-bye, Firefly," they sang, trotting off.

Firefly sighed and stepped away. It was always something weird. It just _had_ to be.

"Hey, there," said a soft male voice, and she looked up.

"King of Death!" she gasped, bowing. "An honor, sir—but—um—I'm—"

"I know, not allowed to talk to me, but hey? We're alicorns," he said, smiling. "We can do what we want."

"Sure," she said, noticing that his eyes weren't that icy, more like the color of the sea. "Um…what's it like, King?"

"Please," he said, smiling. "Call me Despair. And it's all right…I didn't quite catch your name…?"

"Firefly Sparkle," she said, regretting it instantly. _Oh, my Celestia, I'm talking to the King of _Death. "Err…so…"

He laughed beautifully, and her heart melted in her chest. "Being the king of death is pretty cool," he said. "Depressing, for sure, but whoever cared about that?"

"Do you ever visit Equestria?"

"Every day."

"Oh…yeah…"

He laughed again. "You're cute, Firefly. If you ever want me, I'm just here, okay?"

He flew off, and Firefly sat there, her eyes huge in her head and her heart liquid in her chest cavity.


	6. Chapter 6

**It's been sooooooooo long...and my dad locked down our computer...and forgot the mother board fucking password. :/ **

**Review like crazy, darlings!**

They were slumped over her bed, eating cupcakes and talking in the frivolous way that only mares can.

"So, is he cute or not?" giggled Freckles, who had been working on acting slightly ditzy-er than normal, which Firefly didn't really understand, seeing as she was one of the smartest ponies she knew.

"I told you already, he isn't cute, he's _ beautiful_," said Firefly with a sigh. she tugged her pillow to her chest and smiled at the clouds painted onto the giant sloping ceiling. "Looking at him is like breathing into a dream."

"Well, that isn't totally Coltlieo and Juliet," said Freckles sarcastically, flipping her hair dramatically. "Can we talk about something else instead? I'm kind of sick of the whole colt thing."

"Why not? Colts are everything."

"Sure. Maybe to some mares," said Freckles, looking down nervously. "I mean, otherwise, they're just walking talking penises."

Firefly covered her mouth and stifled a laugh. "You so did not just say that."

"I so just did."

"Well, wow," said Firefly, turning around wearily. Freckles' behavior had as of late taken a downward turn. "Any good gossip?"

"Err...You know Fist Pump?"

"Fist Pump as in Pumpkin Cake? Pony with dreadlocks and a pierced nose Pumpkin Cake?"

"Yeah," said Freckles, lowering her voice to a whisper. "She was attacked."

"Attacked?" asked Firefly. "As in beat up, or-?"

"Yeah," said Freckles, biting her lower lip. "And right after Mrs. Cake, too...did you hear that they lost their baby when it happened?"

"Lost...?"

"Well, you've seen your aunt Cadance, right?"

"Oh, yeah," said Firefly, remembering the months before when Cadance had started to look full again before she was found in a bathroom collapsed into a bloody heap.

"How is she doing, anyway?"

"She's having a baby again," sighed Firefly. "I really want a cousin. You're so lucky, with such a big family..."

"Not really," said Freckles with a grimace. "Apple Bloom is just plain weird."

"She seems nice to me," said Firefly. "What, does she pick her nose and eat it or something?"

"No," said Freckles. "Worse. I think she's one of the activists."

The activists, as everypony knew, were an odd group of eccentrics who stayed together in a big house on a hill in Ponyville and protested rape and apple sales and among other things, mistreatment of anypony. They were nice enough in intention, but other than that, strange.

"That's fine by me," said Firefly, shrugging. "I mean, it doesn't really matter as long as she's following her heart and staying true to herself."

"Sure..."

...

Fist Pump couldn't breathe.

Literally.

She had her head stuck into the depths of the bathtub, letting the water go through her nostrils and into her lungs, willingly let herself go into the abyss with no return.

Near the end, she saw a thin white stallion approach her, smiling sadly. He was gentle with her soul-so gentle she almost regretted doing it.

Then again, what was worth it?

...

Dinky Doo was arguably the very future of the Ponyville Police Force.

She was strong, pretty, and wouldn't take shit from the inmates. Full grown stallions reveled in her presence, priding themselves if she gave them doughnut money, staying on the sidelines if she looked at them oddly. She was great with victims, great with everything, in fact. She just wasn't great with her mother.

"Mom, please listen to me," she said as her mother haphazardly made muffins. "There's a predator around, and you have to tell me if you see him."

"Whatever, Dinkling," said Derpy, licking up muffin batter. "You're doing great."

"Mom, are you even listening to me? There's a sexual predator who could potentially rape you."

"Rape?" asked Derpy, looking up. "That's how I got you, sweetie!"

Dinky froze. _What?_ "What do you mean?"

"I was raped, and you were born, and you were the best thing that ever happened to me," said Derpy, smiling, oblivious to her daughter's despair.

Dinky sank to the floor. "But...that's all I fight against..."

She was crushed.

...

"Are you alright?" whispered a high voice, and Rainbow Dash woke up, a tiny smile creeping upon her lips.

"Yes," she whispered back, kissing Fluttershy on the nose. "I'm completely alright."

Fluttershy smiled and kissed her back, only this time on the mouth. Their tongues met, tasting of cotton candy and rainbows, and from there, Dash sunk lower, kissing the light curve of her lover's stomach, the outer lips, the inside. They were completely silent while doing this, and the slight amount of joy escalated out of proportion into something that could only be pure, a love created completely out of music, devoid of the hate and pain forged into relationships of the past.

"Was that good?" whispered Dash. She couldn't bare to raise her voice, not like this, not with her beautiful queen in her presence.

"It was amazing," whispered Fluttershy, her breathing shallow and perfect. "Do you want to have a baby?"

Rainbow Dash cocked her head. "We can?"

"If Luna and Twilly can do it, so can we," said Fluttershy quietly. "And I want a baby with you, Dashy. You're everything to me."

Rainbow Dash smiled. "Okay, sweetie," she said, kissing her again and again.


	7. Chapter 7

**What's great about this is that I'm writing most chapters at the library. It's painful as hell, mind you, but I'm getting it done. **

**Special thanks to IHeartFantasy for teaching me how do that god-forsaken line. **

* * *

"Have you ever thought that you weren't good enough?"

The question was spurred on a sunny day, a sunny day with no real harm to anypony. Shining Armor looked over to his wife, his virtuous, beautiful, so many months along wife, and frowned. "What are you trying to say, darling?"

"What I said, sweetness," said Cadance, kissing his horn. "Have you?"

"Not especially," said Shining Armor. "I mean, I could, I guess, but I don't take that much time to think things over like that."

"So, that's a stallion thing?"

He smiled at her. "Most likely, yes."

* * *

Adam was bored.

His son stared up at him with wide spaced eyes. He was a sickly foal, not very strong, but there was an ounce of love towards him, a tiny little ounce that you could barely see in fault of the layers of finely-woven hatred. His scruffy blonde hair—it wasn't a mane, not really—hung over his eyes. "Papa?" he wheezed.

"Yes, son?"

"I…I wub you."

Adam looked down at him, then slapped him squarely across the face. "Love doesn't exist, you idiot," he hissed, standing up in the cave. "All that exists, my prodigal son, is hate. Don't forget that."

* * *

Firefly was skipping through the palace when she heard a soft moan.

Is it a ghost?

she thought, her eyes growing large in her head. She stepped by the bedroom it came out of and peered inside. Cadance was on the bed, the sheets clustered around her, sitting in a pool of blood.

"Oh my God," whispered Firefly, walking in. "Aunt Cadance? What…what's happening to you?"

"I think the foal's coming, sweetie," said Cadance, her face contorted into a mask of pain. "Please, get your uncle…or…_aaaahhh!"_

She let out a piercing scream and collapsed a little on the bed. Firefly bit her lip, tasted blood, and ran down the hallway, screaming for help.

"Please!" she shouted. "Anypony! It's the Princess!"

Immediately, Princess Celestia and Shining Armor were by her side. "What's wrong with Cadance?" asked Shining Armor, barely listening to her and running down the corridor.

"She…blood…I don't know!" pleaded Firefly, her long eyelashes fluttering. "Will somepony help me?"

"Of course, honey," said Celestia, galloping towards Cadance's room. "Oh my God…"

Cadance whinnied, back to an animalistic mindset. Firefly had to be imagining…_had_ to be…but what that a tiny horn?

"Oh, my, it's crowning," said Celestia, starting to panic. "Okay, does anypony here know anything about foals?"

"No clue," said Shining Armor, his hoof holding Cadance's. "Is it too early, or—?"

"No," gasped Cadance, and Firefly saw beads of sweat articulating around her forehead. "On time, I think. I _think_."

Firefly looked around and saw a white stallion. "No," she muttered, running towards him. "Please. They've been trying so hard, Despair!"

Despair sighed. "You'll have to bargain with me."

"Take…take my life instead!"

He repeated the gesture and kissed her on the brow. "No."

"But the baby—"

"Won't be going anywhere," he said, smiling slightly. "It'll live, Firefly, I promise."

"Thank you," she said, kissing him full on the mouth. "Thank you so much."

He disappeared, and crying filled the room. "It's a girl," said Celestia, looking on in utter amazement and the tiny filly, who was despite being covered with blood, utterly adorable.

"Aria," whispered Cadance quietly, staring at her baby, who let out another cry. "What's wrong with her wings?"

"Nothing. They're just like that for all pegasi and alicorns," said Celestia gently. "You should've seen Firefly's….Firefly? Is something wrong?"

The small mare looked up, smiling weakly. "I just…I just had my first kiss," she whispered, her eyes full of stars. "And…it was perfect."

* * *

**A short chapter, but YEAH! ARIA! Review like crazy please!**


	8. Chapter 8

**So, lucky me, my boyfriend fixed my computer! :3 I'm so happy it's ridiculous, and to celebrate, I spent all night editing documents and such! And GOD! There are so many deleted gory scenes! **

**So, thanks for the reviews! I love you guys! You really make my day. **

* * *

**p**

Firefly looked up at the stars with light teardrops staining her cheeks.

"Why are you crying?" whispered an all too familiar voice.

"I feel lost," said Firefly. "Nothing's been going my way lately…"

"That doesn't necessarily mean life is bad," said Despair, smiling besides her. "You're quite pleasurable, darling."

"But you're the king of _Death_," she said exasperatedly. "We're star-crossed, Despair! Whatever we have together…love or otherwise…well, it's not meant to be."

"So it can be said," whispered Despair, his nose directly above her ear. "But that doesn't necessarily mean we can't have _anything_ together."

She sighed, staring at him with his beautiful body and beautiful eyes and beautiful, beautiful everything. She wanted him—rather desperately, that was—but she knew that it was against protocol, against everything she had been raised for. Then again, she _was_ an alicorn. Alicorns could break rules if they wanted to, correct?

"Fine," she said, pretending to yawn. "What do you want to do?"

"In Cloudsdale there's supposed to be a crazy huge party," said Despair delightfully. "Or we could go to Fillydelphia and get some burgers."

"Fillydelphia sounds fine to me," said Firefly begrudgingly, following him out of her bedroom and on to the balcony. "Shall we?"

He took her by the hoof. "Of course, darling."

The soared upwards until they were past the general cloud cover, and from there they traveled East. Firefly couldn't help but notice the muscles in Despair's legs, his back, his wingspan…it was all too much. She had an ominous feeling that they wouldn't be making it to Fillydelphia, a feeling that much more would happen…_Quit it, Firefly! Stop being such a pervert!_

"What are you thinking about?" asked Despair with a tiny smile. "You look rather distracted, if you get my drift.

_Oh, sweet Celestia._ "I'm not distracted. Not really."

"Are you being truthful?" asked Despair with a laugh. "Tell me about yourself, anyway."

"Well…my moms are Twilight Sparkle and Princess Luna, obviously," she said.

"Moms?"

"They're lesbians."

"I see."

"Thanks to you, I have a cousin," she said with a tiny smile. "My aunt and uncle are pretty cool. My aunt Celestia taught me basically everything, so…"

"She's cool, but not cool enough to be deemed cool?"

"Exactly!" laughed Firefly. "Finally, somepony who gets it!"

Despair smiled sweetly at her. "Tell me about your friends."

"Well…there's Freckles," said Firefly. "And…yeah, that's about it."

"What am I to you?"

"A special somepony, I guess."

"You guess?"

"Well, I'm not sure if the feeling is mutual."

"Trust me: it's mutual."

Firefly smiled and stood on a cloud. "Come here…just for a minute."

He smiled back, and their eyes became one with each other.

* * *

Rarity was crushed.

Spike wasn't there, for one thing, so she was, for once, completely and utterly dependent on herself and herself only. It was scary, because over the last few years, Rarity had been anything but responsible. There had been drinking and laughter and drugs and pain. She wasn't anything but a shell of her former self; the mare who had once been dedicated to dressmaking and designer clothes had all but faded away into pure nothingness, replaced by a lazy, apathetic mare with the mindset of a filly, too indulgent in nearly everything except for the things she actually needed to survive, a mess, broken into pieces by a monster that had been long dead.

But this time, even though her beautiful, beautiful boy was gone on a 'task' (was he cheating? Partying with other dragons, trying, perhaps, to link his self with a culture he had all but lost?), she was not entirely alone. She had known for a week, now, ever since the familiar blood failed to run down her thighs, and was now brooding senselessly.

_Should I keep it? Should I get rid of it? Will it be a boy or a girl? Is there any hope at all for us being a family? _

Families were structured environments, places where young foals grew up and learned how to take care of themselves, places of love and nourishment for passions and oddities. Rarity was good at passion, yes, but she barely knew love anymore. Spike was more of an addiction than a soul mate, and the only stallion she had ever really fallen for was that seemingly stupid Big Macintosh. Then again, this was different. This was a baby.

She bit her lower lip and closed her eyes, banging the back of her head against the wall. It was so unfair, that she had to get pregnant now. Why couldn't she be a good mother like Twilight and actually _want_ children? Was something wrong with her? Was she too screwed up in the head, screwed up by the rape, in order to even feel _love_ anymore?

A sob escaped her throat, and Rarity cried, barely able to register anything, her now ramshackle boutique empty with the exceptions of herself and a single mannequin.

* * *

Firefly couldn't believe what had happened.

"You _what?"_ whispered Freckles in her bedroom. Applejack and Soarin' were sound asleep (or, well, something) in the master bedroom, and Firefly had _had_ to sneak over and tell her.

"I know, right?" she asked. Her heart was still fluttering in her chest—no, not fluttering. It was _pounding_ like the bass on DJ PON-3's latest album. "I still can't really believe it myself."

"What was it like?" asked Freckles, who was yet to really come into any sexual contact with anypony. "Did it hurt?"

"Uh-huh," nodded Firefly. "It felt really bad at first, but then it felt like…like there was a balloon inside of me."

"That sounds sort of gross," said Freckles.

"No, like a good balloon! It was really weird but really good at the same time."

Freckles rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Firefly. You're weird."

"You're weird, too, Freckles."

"But you did it!" exclaimed Freckles, forgetting that her parents were asleep and would probably kill her if they found out she was talking to a princess in the middle of the night. "You actually went through with it and _had the sex!"_

"I didn't _have the sex_," laughed Firefly. "I just…did it, I guess."

Freckles sighed and looked over her friend's shoulder. "I think you should probably getting going now, Fly. It's really late."

"Why the rush?" teased Firefly. "You never used to kick me out this early before."

"Well, that was before, wasn't it?" asked Freckles simply, biting her lower lip.

"What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Nothing."

"Come on, Freckles. You've been acting really strange lately, like something's been bothering you. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," said Freckles uncomfortably. "Look, it's really personal—"

"But I'm your best friend!" interrupted Firefly. The laughter was gone from her eyes. "Come on, Freckles. What's up?"

Freckles looked down. "Well…I just don't feel like you care about me anymore," she said quietly. "I mean…you're supposed to be my best friend and stuff, but most of the time it seems like you're too busy with royal affairs and stuff to even hear what I'm trying to say. It's downright irritating at time, Firefly."

"Okay," said Firefly with the same level of softness. "I'm sorry if I haven't been able to talk that much, Freckles, but I'm glad you understand how hard it is with all of this craziness going on as of late."

"And…there's another thing."

"Oh?"

"Firefly," said Freckles slowly. "I really don't know how to say this, but I'm—"

Freckles' bedroom door opened, and Applejack was standing there, an amused expression on her face. "What are you doing here, Fly?" she asked in her drawl. "It's awful late, don't you think so?"

"Sorry, Aunt AJ," said Firefly, stepping outside of the window. "I'll fly home now, if you want me to."

"Well, it _is_ pretty late…you could stay here if you wanted."

The look on Freckles' face made Firefly nervous. "No, thank you," she said politely. "I have to get up early tomorrow morning. Business in the starscape, you know."

"Whatever you say, darlin'," said Applejack, closing the door behind her. "Night, Freckles."

"Bye, bestie," whispered Firefly, and she flew off into the darkness.

* * *

Firefly got home in time for Princess Celestia to come into her room and jump on top of her bed.

"Um…good morning, Aunt Celestia?" said/asked Firefly awkwardly as her aunt stared at her with large eyes. "How are you?"

"Firefly," said Celestia quietly. "Why were you seen with the King of Death last night?"

"It's nothing," said Firefly, trying to keep her breathing steady. "We're just friends."

"You…you can't be friends with him," said Celestia.

"But don't you endorse friendship?" demanded Firefly. "Friendship is magic, right?"

"Well, yes—"

"Then you'd be an utter hypocrite if you said I couldn't be friends with somepony," said Firefly. "I'm a mare now, Aunt Tia. I can do what I _want_."

"Your mane hasn't even changed yet," protested Celestia. "You're not an adult until—"

Firefly closed her eyes. When she opened them, they were darker, more pure than before. Her coat started to change in hue, growing deeper from soft lavender to a dark, violent shade of grayish-violet. Her mane and tail started to shimmer, then changed into pure energy, just like her mother, except for made entirely out of a rainbow and then some of electric currents.

"Am I an adult now, Aunty?" asked Firefly demurely, and she trotted off to her mothers' corridors.

* * *

**So, yeah. Firefly's all grown up. .:sniff:. Hay, speaking of that, is anypony with a DeviantArt willing to possibly draw some pictures? I've been using Microsoft Paint because I don't have a scanner, and it would be MAJOR cool if somepony could draw Firefly and such. :) Please? **

**Review, please! **


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you so much for the reviews! It makes me so happy to know that people still care about this little ink-baby. **

**Also, my little brother? He likes Pinkie Pie the best. Just thought you should know. **

* * *

There is always some kind of strangeness associated with a child growing up. Twilight Sparkle felt very much intact for the majority of her daughter's foalhood, but this…having her little girl taller than her, almost as big as Luna, with a fiery mane and a way of looking at things that didn't make sense…it hurt her personally. She wasn't sure why, exactly, but it was disconcerting.

She had her parents over—Night Light and Twilight Velvet—and they told her the basic advice. Love your filly, watch her have her own foals, and don't let her do anything _too_ stupid. For baby Aria—who was, by the way, completely and utterly adorable—they gave the advice of "Oh my Celestia, she's so _cute!"_

The thing her parents didn't understand, she thought, was how to raise an alicorn. What did you do when their status as a royal overwhelmed everything and anything? What could you do to teach them if they already knew everything to be told?

What did you do when you died?

She shivered and watched the sleeping form of her daughter. She was so perfect, her best creation, her best part of herself. A single teardrop spilled over her cheek and landed on the pillow, and with it, a brilliant silver eyes flecked with light opened.

"Mama?" asked Firefly, yawning and getting up. "How are you?"

"Alright, I guess," said Twilight, wiping away her tears. "Did you have good dreams?"

"Excellent dreams, in fact," said Firefly, smiling bigger and brighter than the sun. "Where's Mom?"

"Starscape," she said, thinking of her wife. What would happen when she died? Would Luna find a new mare or go on forever, lonely and cold? "There's an issue or something with some of the alicorns…a breach in code or something like that."

Instantly, Firefly was more alert. "Did she say who?" she asked, worry poisoning her vocal chords.

"No," said Twilight, confused. "Why? Is one of your friends—"

Firefly sped through the window, breaking glass, and soared into the sky, her feathers bloody. Twilight watched her daughter in amazement and horror, wondering if she would ever really understand her for what she was.

* * *

"I can't believe you," snarled Luna across the table.

The meeting of alicorns of Equestria had just started. Celestia, Luna, Firefly, Cadance, and the baby, Aria, were all there. Firefly felt especially awkward.

"You disobeyed royal Equestrian code," said Celestia, "slept with the King of Death, and _now_ what? Please don't tell me you weren't stupid enough to get pregnant."

"I'm not pregnant, and I'm not stupid," said Firefly, closing her eyes. "And why is some stupid old law so important if nopony actually _knows_ about it?"

"We do," chorused Celestia and Luna together. Cadance stared at her niece with a sad look in her eyes. "I of all people believe in love, darling," she said in her soft soprano. "But…this isn't love."

"It _is_ love!" cried Firefly, feeling herself go into tears. "I finally find somepony I like, and you _all_ decide to crush my dreams! I—I _hate _you!"

She screamed at them, unregulated. "I can't believe you! Why can't I do what I want? _Why?"_

"Because—" started Celestia.

"You're too _perfect_ to be in love," sobbed Firefly, falling to the floor. "Nopony understands what it's like."

Celestia stared at her for a long hard moment, and then slapped her across the face.

"You know what?" she said in a low hiss. "I _was_ in love once, Firefly. And guess what else? I wasn't allowed to be in love either. So _what_ if we were going to get married. So _what_ if I was going to have a foal."

"You were going to have a foal once?" asked Firefly, wiping away her tears. "I…what happened?"

"My parents broke off the relationship," said Celestia, looking away. "As for the foal…I lost it. I was too young, I guess. But Firefly, I don't want you to get hurt like I did. Stay away from that stallion."

* * *

Adam was bored.

The child—who he had started to call Noah—was unhealthy, skinny. "Daddy?" he called, skipping stones. "Look, Daddy! I made it skip!"

"Shut up," growled Adam, looking past the bushes. "We're going to play a game."

"A game?" asked Noah, perking up. "What kind of game?"

"Well, you're going to stick your wee-wee into that filly."

Noah frowned. "Why?"

"I'll give you some berries."

"Okay!"

He skipped over to the gray, somber looking filly with huge eyes. "Hi," he said. "I'm Noah! What's your name?"

"I'm Blinky," she said, not stopping her gaze.

"Cool!" he said, shoving her to the ground. She whinnied, but he stuck his small penis inside of her anyway, shifting it back and forth like Daddy had taught him on his own butt. He made sure to keep her face in the dirt the whole time, too. She screamed and fought, but even though he was smaller than her, he got it in her, and even though there was blood on his wee-wee when he was done, he skipped off to Daddy, who, as promised, gave him some berries.

* * *

Dinky Doo frowned. "A filly was raped today," she told her mother. "Blinky Pie."

"Like Pinkie?" asked Derpy, looking up. "Like Pinkie, right, Doctor?"

Doctor Whooves, Derpy's latest boyfriend, looked over from the kitchen table. "What? I assume that to be true," he said in his intelligently masculine voice.

Derpy smiled and turned to Dinky. "I was right," she sang, eating a muffin. "Mmm. Poppy seed."

"Mom, you've lost the point," said Dinky. "A filly was _raped_, and by somepony who doesn't fit our usual description."

"Like who?"

"Another foal," said Dinky, looking up with realization. "Mom, that's it!"

"Hmm? Muffins?"

* * *

**I love Derpy. That's probably why I'm searching etsy to find a doll right now. :) **

**Also, are you guys excited for Bronycon 2013? I can't wait. I mean, finally, people who understand me! **


	10. Chapter 10

**Woaaaaaah! Tenth chapter! **

**That always feels like a huge milestone to me, like, a hay, you did it! Halfway through! **

**Warning: this chapter is pretty trippy. I play with space and time and life what-nots. Don't worry, though-the deepness isn't permanent. **

All of Ponyville was deathly silent.

Apple Bloom couldn't sleep for the pattering of rain. Her pupils were slightly dilated, and Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were curled next to her, breathing softly as the storm ran on.

"Are you tired?" whispered a voice, and she turned to see Zecora standing in the doorway of the tree house. "For if you are, I can help you expire."

"No thanks, Zee," said Apple Bloom, yawning. "I don't want any spells or potions right now."

"Potions are not of what I speak, Apple Bloom; I tell of another reach."

"What does that even _mean?_" asked Apple Bloom, staring at her, insomnia taking over. "Zee, I love you, but you don't make any sense."

"Who said sense in the truth? When did you become a sleuth?" asked Zecora, lying down in the bed with them. "Cutie Mark Crusaders three, by all means, aren't odds lonely?"

"Oh," said Apple Bloom. "I mean, it's okay."

"But don't you hope and dream for something more it sometimes seems?"

Apple Bloom bit her lower lip. "Yes."

Zecora smiled and leaned forward. "Then reciprocate, my sweet fleur-de-lis, and on my lips please land a kiss."

"You flirt," laughed Apple Bloom, obliging and kissing her on the mouth. "Mmm. You taste citrusy."

"You, my friend, taste so sweet, that I fear it is hard to beat."

"Zee, you're great."

Zecora laughed and kissed her again, her couplets silenced for no particular reason other than the fact that for a minute she was oblivious to the racism and horribleness brought on by her fellow Equestrians, taken a back for a moment, her green eyes closing and imagining a future she knew would never be.

"Do you love me?" whispered Apple Bloom.

"From west to east from east to west, it is in my heart which you have the best," whispered Zecora, wishing that one day she could make sense without rhyme.

Apple Bloom smiled and kissed her cheek.

* * *

Firefly galloped down the starscape, electricity spurring out of her hooves. She knew that he would see her before she saw him, and their eyes met, silver and blue, and they melted into each other.

"Hello, Despair," she whispered, kissing him lightly on the mouth. "How was your day?"

"Very dead," joked Despair, his long white mane, the black streaks looking like opaque mirrors into the very soul of the starscape. "How was yours?"

"Boring," said Firefly, faking a yawn. "You know. Aria sang her first note today."

"Which one was it?"

"High E flat. It was incredible, considering that she's a baby and all."

"Give her my congratulations," said Despair with a smile. "Would you like to go flying?"

She nodded, and they began to soar into nothingness, their wings beating against clouds made of dark souls. Solar flares exploded around them, and the cosmos spun an untraceable web around their destiny, each and every light pulsing and throbbing into new life, creating what could be the newborn souls of thousands of beings, each and every one perfect, unable to be destroyed permanently…

"Despair?" asked Firefly as they flew past the birthing of a universe. "Who creates all of the souls?"

"The Mother," said Despair simply.

"Where…where is she?"

"Hovering somewhere in the center of the universe. We're not even close to the center, from what I've heard."

"Are there…other planets?"

"Yes."

"What lives on them? Are there more ponies?"

Despair bit his lip. "I don't know. Nopony does, really. It's a mystery."

* * *

It took hours, minutes, seconds, days, before Firefly was aware of the darkness in between every star. Yes, there was illumination, but it wasn't _eternal_. Stars died out. So, it seemed, did anyone with a real soul.

"Are our souls real?"

"Yes."

"Then why don't we die?"

"Because our destiny is more complete than that of mortals," said Princess Luna.

"Are we even related?"

"Yes."

"But…do you ever feel like you're spinning out of control? Don't you ever want to be normal, to be _ignorant_ and blissful?"

Luna frowned, closed her eyes, and then looked at her daughter. "Who doesn't?"

* * *

Adam blinked. "Noah? What are you doing?"

Noah looked up and smiled. "I made a doll, Daddy!" he cried happily, holding it up with his mutated hands/hooves. "Isn't he beautiful?"

Adam slapped Noah across the face. The boy fell to the ground, looking up with wounded eyes. He hit him again, harder and harder, until blood ran over his hands and coldness filled his heart. It didn't matter. Noah wasn't human. He didn't matter. He was nothing.

He dragged the body back to the cave and tore out some of the flesh, ripping it with his teeth and gnawing on it like an animal. His son had been worthless. It didn't matter.

What did anymore?

* * *

Fluttershy was shaking.

She couldn't stop. She hadn't been able to stop no matter what she did, no matter how many times she tried to distract herself without avail.

Darkness flooded over her house, and the door busted open. "Get on the ground," it hissed, and she slowly went to the floor, shaking, unable to stop crying.

"Please don't hurt me," she sobbed as it stepped behind her. "Please leave me alone."

It stuck its thing in her, and her world went gray. It smelled of blood and sweat and semen, and her tongue was bleeding in her mouth and mixed with the honeysuckle she had eaten.

_This isn't right,_

_.:what's going on here:. _

KILL.

She stopped it. She stood up, looked it in the eye, and screamed.

"NO!" she shouted. "YOU WILL NOT HURT ME LIKE THAT!"

She punched it across the hairless face, and it scattered out of her house.

There was still blood in between her legs, and it was sore, and she barely thought that she could go on trying to sleep. It hurt too much.

_Not again not again oh no not again WHY?! _

She sobbed into her hooves, disbelieving. It hadn't happened. She was dreaming. She had barely gotten over her first assault, and now…

There was another knock at the door, and she hit the floor, shaking uncontrollably. _It won't be it can't be please go away_

But instead of the monster, a familiar voice called out her name. "Fluttershy?" asked Rainbow Dash, knocking ever so politely. "Fluttershy, are you there?"

She whimpered, and the door bust open. Rainbow Dash looked at her, at the blood, at everything, and grabbed her, holding her against her chest, rocking back and forth. Fluttershy cried hard, not stopping, letting herself run into Dash, letting herself get rid of the emotions that she had been carrying for so long.

"It hurt me," she whispered finally, her eyes red and swollen. "Dashy, it hurt me."

* * *

**Da-dum. Yeah, poor Fluttershy...I feel like she's there just to be tortured sometimes. **

**Anywho, time for a contest! I need a new foal-I've got two more already-but I need a new foal, any gender, any race except for alicorn and zebra (heh heh heh), and an interesting back story! I'll give you credits in the summary and what not! YEAH! **

**Love you guys.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Reflections of Twilight, thank you sooooooooooooooo much! I hope you like my interpretation of Seren. :) She gets really huge in the next few chappies. **

**Anyway! Reviews! Thanks to...**

**Reflections of Twilight **

**IHeartFantasy **

**Sparrow06 **

**anddddddd SovietPony! I love you guys! **

The elements of harmony had not met for ages.

The effects of aging were starting to get to them. Rarity looked positively disheveled, for one, her eyes slightly red from crying earlier; Applejack's wiriness had faded into normalcy, and Pinkie Pie looked dead, her hair flat and lifeless, a discorded lifestyle catching up to her. Rainbow Dash, though, still was all muscle, Twilight Sparkle's hair was lustrous and her pelt was shining, and finally, Fluttershy, who had always been the youngest of the group, barely looked like she was out of filly-hood, a waif. Two of them were parents, three of them had children, and two had fallen into each other's arms.

"It was a human," said Rainbow Dash, biting her lower lip. She had to act as a voice for Fluttershy, now that the said pony was rather mute. "There's evidence. The lab came back with unidentifiable body fluids."

"So it has to be human," whispered Pinkie Pie. Her voice had acquired a slight metallic quality, and she looked taller. "Oh, my Celestia, I'm so sorry, sweetie."

This was also new about Pinkamena Diane Pie. She seemed to be much more empathetic, much lonelier, much _darker_. Maybe it was just Discord, maybe it was age, but nopony liked it.

Firefly, who was also at the table, looked up, biting her lower lip. She couldn't remember any of the elements before the storms started. "What should we do?"

"I have no idea," said Twilight, who had always sort of been the leader. She slumped over slightly. "What can we do? This thing seems to be pretty impossible to kill."

"It probably is," said Rarity, looking more depressed than usual. "Why are we even here?"

"I hate my life," said Fluttershy simply.

"Girls!" said Firefly, looking at all of them. "I can't believe you! You're supposed to be the elements of harmony, not some weird kind of cult of depressed washed out idiots!"

They looked at her like she was a brand new idea. "Yeah," said Rainbow Dash. "Firefly's right. We can't just do _nothing_. We're the elements of _harmony_."

"You're right!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie, and for a moment, she looked like her old self. "Laughter! Loyalty! Generosity! Um…what were the rest?"

"It was something really catchy, too," said Rarity.

"Strength, Kindness, and Magic?" asked Applejack.

"Yeah!" exclaimed the six ponies minus Firefly at once.

"Thanks, AJ," said Fluttershy, and Applejack smiled and hugged her.

"Okay," said Firefly. "Now that you all know about your positions of elements of harmony, I, Princess Firefly Andromeda Astrana Sparkle, will put you on a mission to find this monster and seek revenge for your fallen sisters."

"Yeah!"

"Then get out there."

* * *

Once alone, Firefly smiled to herself. She was a total sneak, but whatever.

Freckles was waiting for her in her bedroom. "Now, let me meet this Mr. Death guy," she said.

Firefly giggled. "Okay," she said, and they flew to one of their favorite cloud structures.

Despair was waiting there, smiling when he saw Freckles. "Well, hello, lovely friend of Firefly," he said, kissing her hoof.

Freckles tittered and nearly fell through the cloud. "Nice to meet you, too, Despair."

"Okay, guys," said Firefly excitedly. "Ready to go?"

They smiled at her with an unanimous nod, and they soared down to pick up the rest of their friends.

* * *

The thing about being the daughter of Photo Finish was that fashion, even though she didn't really like it, was a part of her everyday life. In your-face models would saunter through her nursery, not expecting to mentally scar the filly, and she was constantly getting photos taken of her by the paparazzi. She wasn't famous, just there.

Picture Perfect sighed and stared up at her ceiling. Nothing ever happened to her. Nothing, not even the slightest thing, ever freaking happened.

Her window smashed open, and three ponies landed in her bedroom.

"Your majesty," she said, sinking to the floor. This was something. "Um, why are you in my room?"

"We would like you to come on a quest with us," said Princess Firefly to the mint-colored unicorn. "Will you accept?"

"Holy yes, I will," said Picture Perfect breathlessly, and before she knew it, she was on the back of an alicorn, riding into an unknown place.

* * *

Toast liked to be a hipster. He was pretty good at it, all things considered, but he was lonely. Nopony knew him for who he was, the zebra-unicorn past the coffee and glasses and bird jokes. Oh, he like bird jokes a lot.

He was staying with his aunt Zecora (cray-cray, if one understands correctly) when there was a knock at the door. "Come in," he called, dusting. He really, honestly, did _not_ expect to see Princess Firefly along with an oh-so handsome alicorn stallion and two other, less significant ponies.

"Hello, Toast," said Firefly, her electrical mane cracking and sparkling in the dim light of the hut. "How are you today?"

"How—how do you know my name?" he asked, looking up at her with large green eyes.

The alicorn stallion spoke up. "I met your father once," he said in a low voice. _Oh my God he's hot. _"I'm Despair, king of Death."

"Pleasure to meet you," said Toast, starting to wonder why they were here at all. His father, after all, had been dead for ages. "What can I help you with?"

"We're going on a quest," said a flighty looking pegasus. _Very butch. _"Would you like to come?"

"Well, yeah," said Toast, galloping over. "That would be rather awesome."

* * *

"Five ponies, exactly," said Firefly, calculating her options. "We need to be like the elements of harmony, right?"

"Yeah, so that means we need six," said Freckles. "Any ideas? We don't know many ponies…"

"OOOO! I KNOW!" shouted Picture Perfect, waving her hoof like crazy. "There's Serenity Twinkle!"

"Who?" asked Firefly.

"She's one of my mother's client's kids," said Picture Perfect, talking way too fast. "She's got some of the best hair ever, trust me. Really."

"Oh," said Despair, an odd look on his face. "Hmm. Okay."

They ran through Canterlot, ignoring the stares from various unicorns and waves and bows to Firefly. Finally, on the outskirts, they reached a tiny ramshackle apartment building. "She lives in the penthouse," explained Picture Perfect, as if that was the perfect excuse for living in such a detestable building.

They went up the elevator, and when they got out, a dark blue unicorn filly with an unruly electric blue mane was chewing gum and reading. She had this odd sort of elegance that Toast found amazing, the sort of elegance he had only seen in his mother.

"Seren? Siri?" asked Picture, bouncing on her heels. "Um, this is Freckles-Toast-Despair-and Princess _Firefly_, and we're going on a quest that might be potentially life threatening. Wanna come along?"

Serenity looked up from her book, closed her eyes, and said in a soft voice, "Sure."

**Quest time! Yeah! Happy face! **

**Now, for a vote...do you guys want **

**a.) more cutsie happy stuff (like baby Aria) :3 **

**b.) gory rape scenes (I'll write in more detail...heh) **

**or c.) none of the above! more OCs! less OCs! A MARY SUE! **

**Is Firefly a Mary Sue? I love her too much to judge her. **

**Fluttershy: Why do you keep raping me? **

**Rarity: Why am I so emotionally unstable? **

**Twilight: Will Luna always love me? **

**Apple Bloom: When will I show my bad-ass face again? **

**I'm going a little overboard over here... **

**REVIEW!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Thanks for the input, guys! I wub you! **

* * *

It had grown increasingly cold overnight, and now, in the early morning, their breath was easily visible, little clouds of heat. Picture Perfect glanced over her shoulder, always caught in self-doubt, her tiny body cursed by constant dissatisfaction and self-created lies. Firefly and Despair guarded the outer pathway, and the four stayed inside of the path, chattering to help pass the time.

"So, exactly where are we going?" asked Toast after a long conversation centering entirely round Canterlot fashion.

"Ponyville," said Freckles simply. "Where _in_ Ponyville, we're not sure, but we're going to definitely be in Ponyville."

* * *

Rarity sighed and walked through Manehattan for the second time.

It was always difficult for her to even think of Manehattan; maybe it was the rape. Okay, it definitely was the rape. The rape was everything.

* * *

"I'm bored," groaned Toast.

"So? Look at the scenery," said Serenity, pointing out a very pretty bunch of flowers. "Or…um…"

"I'm sorry if it's boring, kid, but we have a while to walk, and don't you want to save the day?" asked Despair encouragingly.

"Yeah," said Freckles, flying above them. "We're going to be _heroes._"

"Well…that is pretty cool," admitted Toast. "But—_what in the hay-hay is that?"_

The other ponies turned to look at what he was pointing at. It was dark and tall and had holes in its legs and a teal mane and insectoid wings and was just plain terrifying. It didn't see them, but they crept towards it anyway.

"Is it an alicorn?" whispered Picture Perfect.

"I don't think so," said Firefly, fluttering her wings nervously. "It doesn't _look_ like an alicorn…"

The thing turned, and they all screamed.

"Wait, wait!" it hissed, its voice disjointed. "I'm not going to hurt you!"

"But…you have fangs," said Firefly. "That's just an apparent sign of evil."

"I'm not evil! Not anymore, at least," said the weird pony-insect-monster. "I'm Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings."

"Queen of the—wait! I know you!" said Firefly. "You kidnapped my aunt Cadance, tricked my uncle Shining Armor, and were just plain terrible to all of the ponies in Canterlot!"

"I'm sorry," said Chrysalis, looking down at the floor.

"You should be," said Despair, looking down at her. "You're responsible for terrifying many small ponies to death."

"My king," said Chrysalis with a bow. "I should've said something earlier…it's an honor to be in such a magnificent presence—"

"We don't have any time for this hay," said Freckles. "Do you want to help up save Equestria or not?"

"I don't know," said Chrysalis, shrugging noncommittally. "I mean, do you _want_ me to help you save Equestria?"

"You're a wanted prisoner in Canterlot, so I could guess that you probably would need some kind of supervision," said Firefly thoughtfully. "Then again, we could just kill you on the spot…"

"Firefly!" chorused Serenity and Picture Perfect. Then, Serenity only: "That's crazy talk! Are you trying to get set up for your _own_ death?"

"Fine," said Firefly begrudgingly. "But I'll be watching you, so don't. Try. Anything."

* * *

As it turned out, having a changeling queen on board was very useful. For instance, being an exile, she knew a lot about what kind of wild things were edible, the wind currents that were less used, and, mind you, she had a changeling army at her command. Other than that, though, she was nasty-mouthed, verbally abusive, and kept looking dreamily at Freckles, Despair, and Firefly. When they went to sleep that night, they made sure to tie her to a tree, in fear that she would watch them while they slept.

The next morning, they awoke to find her, unbound by Serenity, making breakfast at a makeshift fire. "Hello, Chrysalis," said Firefly simply.

"Firefly," said Chrysalis, barely acknowledging her. "Would you like some eggs?"

"Depends on the type," said Firefly. "What are they from?"

"I laid them this morning," said the queen, and Toast vomited.

"How can you cook your own babies?" demanded Serenity, looking oddly out of place with anger.

"They're not babies, silly," said Chrysalis. "Changelings aren't hatched."

"I don't even want to know," grumbled Despair, biting into some grass. "The greenery out here isn't that great."

"We're almost at Ponyville, though," said Freckles, always pointing out the good side in things. "The outskirts, at least."

"Any ideas on where the perp is?" asked Picture Perfect, cleaning the vomit off of Toast's face.

"Probably in one of the caves on the west side. There _are_ some tunnels under Ponyville, but I doubt—"

"Wait, _what?_" asked Firefly. "There are _tunnels_ underneath bucking Ponyville and you _never told me?"_

"I thought you knew," shrugged Freckles. "I mean, they connect to the caves of Canterlot and are where the waste is deposited from Cloudsdale. If you're working class, you get to learn a lot."

"That's interesting and all, but can you tell me why any of this is relevant to the monster?" asked Toast, still looking a little bit green.

"Because if the monster is anything like we think it is, it is very smart and very calculating," said Freckles. "Therefore, it could possibly know all of this was happening before we even did, and now may be searching for an escape route."

"_That's_ not totally frightening," said Serenity.

"Well, how are we supposed to _find _it if we don't even know what it looks like?" asked Picture Perfect. "Is it a pony, or what?"

"That's it," said Firefly. "We'll go to the library."

* * *

The library was dark after use of disuse, but they still got in. "Look," whispered Firefly, "that's where my mom and Spike used to sleep, and there's where they found the elements of harmony, and…wow…I think that's where I was conceived…"

"Too much information," said Freckles briefly. "Chrysalis, can you light up the room? We're too short."

Chrysalis sighed and emitted a bright green light from the tip of her horn. Instantly, the dusty spines of books were visible, and Firefly reached for one whose title read _The History of Man._

"What's a man?" whispered Serenity. "Is it some kind of animal?"

"I don't know," said Firefly, flipping randomly to a diagram of a weird hairless thing. "What the hay?"

"I guess that answers your question, Seren," said Toast, biting his lip. "Hey, look, there's a new edition of it."

They opened up _that_ text and flipped to the last chapter.

_…Princess Celestia, along with several other ponies, was victimized by one of the last known men in Equestria. Ever since the great fallout of 2012 AD (12 BC {before Celestia}), mankind has been either extinct or mutated beyond belief into what we now know as the general evil in Equestria, such as all non-pony creatures without cutie marks. The man was killed by Fluttershy, the element of kindness… _

"Princess Celestia was victimized?" asked Picture Perfect in horror.

Queen Chrysalis laughed. "Of course. Raped and beaten, like so many others of your weakly ponykind."

"Shut up, Chrysalis," said Despair. "I'm sorry you had to find out like this, Firefly."

"But…she was my greatest teacher," said Firefly. "Why didn't she tell me?"

"Some things are better left unsaid," whispered Chrysalis, her eyes starting to wander across the room. "Can we read the history of Changelings now?"

"That's it," said Serenity in realization. "Whatever's been attacking ponies sounds just like this. It was a man."

"Then we know what we're looking for now," said Firefly, smiling a little bit evilly.

* * *

**So...tell your friends about this! Let's try to get more reviews than chapters! WOOP!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Wow. I've been, like, really busy. It's ridiculous, what school work does to a person. **

**So, anyway, here's another wonderific chapter. It's kind of short, but there's stuff in it. I just hope y'all still like this. I try my best, and even if that isn't really good, well...too bad.**

* * *

Princess Celestia was in the caves beneath Canterlot.

Huge crystals were everywhere, their enormity shocking to the naked eye. She, however, wasn't easily shocked, and the caves were simply another retreat.

This time, however, she wasn't alone.

"Hello, Princess," came the dry whisper of a draconequus, spinning around the crystals, his dark red pupils dilated. "I assume you're here on business?"

"Go away, Discord," said Celestia, annoyed, and he laughed jovially.

"Why?" he asked, coming face to face with her. He was thin, his coat darker with age, and she couldn't help but a fear the flicker of light in her heart. "It's not like you're _involved _with anyone, not really."

"Yes, but _you_ are," said Celestia, turning away and examining a particularly large diamond. "And, dear Discord, your Pinkamena looks pleasantly…ah…how _do_ I put this…"

"Yes, yes," said Discord with an irritated expression. "She's going to have a foal."

"Congratulations," said Celestia darkly. "Now, really, I must be off."

"Wait, wait, _wait_," said Discord. He leaned over and prodded Celestia's stomach with a claw. "What about you, dear?"

"I—I—I can _not_ believe you!" she hissed, backing away. Something about her stature—perhaps, the way her hooves covered her abdomen—told Discord everything he wanted to know. "You can't touch me, not again!"

"Do you wish it was my foal?" Discord asked softly.

"No!"

"Not even after our first failure?!"

"Discord—"

"Don't even _try _to forget it, Celestia!" hissed Discord. "You weren't the only one hurting."

"Well, you didn't show it, you sick piece of crap," said Celestia, tears forming in her eyes. "We were going to get _married_, for Astrana's sakes."

"And I was _banished_ from Canterlot," said Discord. "I'm _so_ sorry for my insensitivity, Princess, but we both had problems."

"I lost my baby," she said, staring at him, her eyes overflowing. "How can you have forgotten that?"

"It was mine, too!"

They stared at each other, and Celestia started to sob.

* * *

_I have absolutely no idea what to do right now._

Firefly looked on at the forms of the other ponies in the library. They were all asleep except for Despair, who was flying overhead, keeping guard, and Chrysalis, who was staring at her with green eyes.

"Are you frightened?" whispered the queen, her teal mane drifting softly around her, not unlike an alicorn's. "Because if you are, and if you want me to, I can help you."

"I'm scared, but I don't need your help," said Firefly, staring at the floor, trying to get away from the green glow. "I'm perfectly content on my own, thank you very much."

"Really?" asked Chrysalis, morphing into Twilight Sparkle. "Don't you want your mother to comfort you?"

"Quit it."

All of a sudden, Celestia: "Firefly Sparkle, I can help you."

"Seriously, Chrysalis, this isn't cool."

"Really," said Chrysalis, still Celestia. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Chrysalis shifted again, this time into something Firefly hadn't seen before. "Who are you now?"

"Your grandmother," said Chrysalis/Astrana. "Queen Astrana, lady of the alicorns."

"What—what happened to her?" whispered Firefly.

"She disappeared into deep starscape," said Chrysalis quietly, fading back into herself. "I met her once, when I was still relatively normal."

"What was she like?"

"Beautiful," said Chrysalis. "Very tall and thin and beautiful. Everychangeling was so jealous of her, because she emulated love, almost as strongly as Princess Cadance, maybe even more so."

"She sounds lovely," said Firefly.

"You…you remind me of her."

"What, my personality?"

"No. Your mane."

"Oh," said Firefly. She was silent for a moment. "Chrysalis, did anypony ever love you?"

"No," said Chrysalis.

They curled up, a little bit too close, and went to sleep.

* * *

For once, Scootaloo was crying tears of joy.

"Look at it," she said, pointing at the lightning bolt on her flank. "It's so beautiful."

"It really is, Scoots," said Apple Bloom, admiring it. "I mean, wow! You've finally gotten your cutie mark!"

"It's really nice, Scootaloo," said Sweetie Belle. "But, you know what this means now, don't you?"

"What?"

"We're not the Cutie Mark Crusaders anymore."

* * *

The next day, the newfangled six, along with Queen Chrysalis, went underground, literally.

"It smells like the Wonderbolts locker room in here," said Freckles, making a face.

It was dark and musty and ancient feeling. Firefly couldn't really laugh at Freckles' comment, because energy, dark and powerful, was pulling her in, underneath folds of clay and trickle-down rock, to look in the face of something old and hungry.

"This isn't totally weird," said Picture Perfect. "Ew! I think I just stepped in poo!"

"Why would there be poo down here?" asked Toast, scrunching his nose.

"Because of…of…of…that," whispered Serenity, pointing at the big looming thing in the corner.

The seven withheld gasps and stared. Sitting in the corner was a giant white puffy thing. It had six eyes, a giant maw, and looked like a grub.

"It's blocking the way out," whispered Firefly. "What are we going to do?"

"Kill it," said Chrysalis, stepping forward. "Okay, unicorns. Aim your horn directly at it, and then…SHOOT!"

The grub screamed with rage as Picture and Toast and Serenity's magic exploded towards it. It charged forward, and Despair kicked it. Freckles jumped upwards and landed on top of it hard, and pus leaked from its sides.

"Is it dead?" asked Serenity, panting heavily.

"Yes," said Queen Chrysalis, standing back and admiring the body. "It's rather ugly, don't you think?"

"You're a changeling," said Picture Perfect, and she shut up.

* * *

**So, I'm going to ask you guys a favor. I'm having more OC contests coming up (yes, the cast is expanding) but what I'd really like is some honest reviews. Do you like the material? Is it an overall okay plot? Would you like to see a ponified version of yourself wandering around in Ponyville? I can make it work. Anything for the fans... **

**Love you guys! REVIEW!**


End file.
